Abel to Yzerman

Abel to Yzerman

A "Uniquely Bad" Team

12/09/2019 at 11:47am EST

from Travis Yost of TSN,

There was no misconception about the many obstacles facing the Detroit Red Wings at the start of the 2019-20 season: an aging lineup in perilous need of transition, a new general manager for the first time in more than 20 years, and a coaching staff trying to introduce swaths of developmental level talent while simultaneously remaining competitive.

The only hope in Detroit – same as it is in Ottawa or Los Angeles for that matter – is that the team would play well enough to properly evaluate the developmental talent on the active roster.

But at the end of the day, the primary goal is to secure as high a first-round pick as possible at the 2020 NHL Draft. Whether it’s Rimouski’s Alexis Lafreniere or any of the other impact players inside of the top five, Detroit knows they have a real shot to replenish their prospect pool come June.

But even with the appropriate context, it’s hard to imagine that Detroit is happy in any capacity with the first two months of the season. They’ve surely set themselves up to contend for the best odds come draft lottery time by being utterly futile on the ice.

Through 31 games (38 per cent of the regular season), Detroit’s record is 7-21-3. The average game this season – thanks to a -58 goal differential – has seen them losing by just under two goals. And they are uniquely bad, to be sure.

continued

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Welcome to Abel to Yzerman, a Red Wing blog since 1977. No other site on the internet has better-researched, fact-laden and better prepared discussions than A2Y. Re-phrase: we do little research, find facts and stats highly overrated and claim little to no preparation. There are 19 readers of A2Y. No more, no less. All of them, except maybe one, are juvenile in nature. Reminding them of that in the comment section will only encourage them to prove that.

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